


Let's talk business

by 5hines_writes



Category: SHINee
Genre: Choi Minho - Freeform, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-20
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-06-13 11:30:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15363663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/5hines_writes/pseuds/5hines_writes
Summary: Mr Choi and I met at a conference a few months ago and now our companies work together.I've had my eye on him since forever but I've never really had the opportunity to take it any further than a work-relationship.But when the electricity gives out and we are stuck together, it was bound for something to happen.





	1. Meeting room

**Author's Note:**

> Another Minho story from me! I hope you like it! It can get pretty cheesy so I hope you like that ^^ one update a day so you'll have to full fic by next week!

“What kind of proposal is that? That won’t help me, nor Mr Choi and definitely not our clients!

Those products were never supposed to be the focus and it does not represent the current demand,” I said. Mr Choi nodded in agreement. We had been in this meeting for 5 hours and this was already the 20th meeting about the same damn thing. Mr Choi and I had the same kind of company and because of the economic crisis we were trying to work together to take on the competition better, but the guy coming up with the plans particularly failed at it. Either way it would affect the clients, our employees and ourselves, while we were promised a plan in which everyone would profit, he hadn’t proposed anything proper yet and offered mostly short-term solutions. It was so frustrating. Mr Choi agreed with me most of the time. We were not going to settle for a half-assed plan.

  
“Maybe we need to take a break for a while,” Mr Choi proposed. I nodded and sighed, taking another sip of my water. Everyone sighed and quickly streamed out of the conference room. I dropped my head on the table in annoyance. We had spent enough meetings together for me to lose a bit of professionalism when it was just us. He was a similar age and had a more easy-going approach than uptight old and grey men.

“You do agree that we need to keep pushing until he comes up with a proper plan?” Mr Choi asked me when everyone left. I sat back up.

  
“Yeah, I do, but if he keeps messing up I am going to fire him soon, whether you like it or not,” I said. He nodded in understanding. Minho and I connected the moment we met. We were a similar age, owned a similar company. He was driven and smart when it came to business, outside of that he was a compassionate man, handsome and tall, always well-dressed in a nice suit.

 

“Please stop calling me Mr Choi when it’s just us. My name is Minho,” he said, pulling me out of my thoughts.

 

“I just wanted to be formal,” I clarified.

 

He smiled, “I know, but since we have been seeing each other nearly every day for the past few months, I think we don’t need to be formal anymore. If this comes to a good end we will be working together more anyway,” he said. I just nodded.

 

Suddenly the lights went out. The sun was nearly setting and it left the room in an orange glow.

 

“Oh no…” I said, realising all our doors worked on electricity.

 

“Are you scared?” he asked, frowning. I shot him a look.

 

“No, I’m not. But you do realise that every door opens electronically, so basically, we are stuck in here.” I explained.

 

 “Oh,” Minho simply said. We sat in silence for a few minutes until I realised the electricity wasn’t going to get on anytime soon. I took my cell phone out and tried to call my assistant while I started pacing.

  
“Hi, yes, I was wondering if you had any view on the electricity thing. Seeing as I’m stuck with Mr Choi here," I said.

  
“Well, it will take at least 1 hour for the electrician to get here. And then he will still have to fix it,” she explained, I groaned.

  
“Are there any other people stuck inside?” I asked.

 

“No, just you and Mr Choi. It’s past 7pm so the only left were in the meeting with us and we are standing outside. I propose we go to the restaurant next door while we wait so we can continue later as I understand you want to make a decision soon,” she said. 

  
“Thank you, that’s great. Remind me to give you a raise once I get out of here,” I smiled.

 

“I won’t forget. Until later,” she laughed.

 

“Okay, bye,” I said. Minho stood up to, loosening his tie a little bit. He made his way to me.

 

“So if I understand correctly we are all alone, for at least a full hour?” he asked.

 

“Yes, we are, Minho.” I said, leaning against the table. He smiled.

 

“I like the way you say my name,” he said and I smiled in reply.

 

“Hey, can I ask you a question?” he asked.

 

"Sure."

 

“Is it true that women get turned on by men in suits?” he asked, coming a bit closer. I laughed softly.

 

“Yeah, I guess so. Well, an ugly man in a suit is still an ugly man, but a handsome man in a suit, I guess it can be a turn on,” I admitted. He took another step closer.

 

“Do you think I could be seen as handsome, in a suit I mean,” he asked and I knew he was testing the waters. That if I said no that it would not end awkward and we could act like it never happened, but I let him, I didn’t set any boundaries.

 

“Yes,” I replied, encouraging him to take another step.

 

“Is that why you decide to work with my company? he asked, now standing so close I could feel his breath landing on my face.

 

“Decisions about companies based on looks… doesn’t sound smart does it?” I answered. He took another step closer and I sat on the table, to keep some distance between us because I could feel the heat between our bodies growing.

 

“No, but didn’t it play a part at all?” he asked. He was full on trying to seduce me now, the look he gave me wasn’t in any way subtle and by now we both knew where this would end. But for now I played along with the game.

 

“I guess I saw it as a little bonus,” I admitted and by now he stood so close that his hips were touching my knees. He came closer to whisper in my ear.

“Were you imagining… dirty things?” he asked. I decided to stop playing the innocent girl.

 

“How can I resist, the suit alone leaves me dreaming,” I said with slight sarcasm. His hand rested on my knee and he was slowly sliding it under my skirt teasingly.

 

“You know what is a turn on for me?” he asked, while I was busying myself with loosening his tie. I shook my head while throwing his tie away.

 

“Those long legs of yours, always teasing with those lovely skirts,” he said, running his hand down my leg. I undid my hair and he took that chance to run his fingers through my hair, before leaning closer and capturing my lips at last. I leaned back and laid down on the table and he followed willingly. I slipped his vest of his shoulders and he let it fall to the ground. He started unbuttoning my shirt and I slipped it off, throwing it behind me on the table. Now it was time to start unbuttoning his shirt, I did it slowly, admiring every new piece of skin I saw. I didn’t waste any time and went straight for his pants, where a bulge was clearly apparent now. It took only a few seconds to slip off. He grabbed the zipper of my skirt and opened it, sliding my skirt off slowly, making sure to grace his fingers over the skin of my legs as he did so. I bit my lip at the feeling and he smiled satisfied. His arms wrapped around me and pulled me closer to him, our bodies pressed together when he recaptured my lips again in a breathless kiss. 

Minho hovered over me. He was ready but I closed my legs. 

“Now, what do we want, mister Choi?” I teased him. He let out a frustrated groan. I smiled and gave in. 

 

 

 

_______

 

“What if we do a complete merge?” I asked. Minho looked up from buttoning his shirt.

 

“Keep as much products as we can with minimal repercussions for the clients as well as the employees, I don’t see why not,” he said.

 

“Good, then let’s do that,” I said smiling. Minho nodded in reply.

 

I was all dressed when I looked up at Minho. He was mostly dressed but his hair was all messy. I walked up to him.

  
“Let me fix your hair,” I said. He turned to me and studied my face while I fixed his hair.

 

“Your face looks beautiful all flushed like that,” Minho suddenly commented. I smiled shyly.

 

“Thanks,” I said, hoping that I didn't blush. He surprised me by quickly kissing me, now he was not overtaken by lust, it seemed a bit out of place, but I liked it anyway.

  
“Hold on, where is your tie?” I asked. Minho pointed to the other side of the floor. I walked over there and picked it up. I fixed his tie as well.

 

“A woman who can tie a tie, neat,” he commented.

 

“Well, I wear a tie myself once in a while,” I admitted.

 

“Don’t talk about it,” he said groaning.

 

“What?” I asked puzzled.

“You in a tie, now that is what I call a turn on,” he admitted.

“I’ll remember that,” I smiled, sending him a wink.

 

We sat back on our original places, as if we had been discussing the whole time. At last the lights went on again. A few minutes later everyone filed back in the room. We told Mr Kim who had been trying to make the plans to sit down and listen instead.

 

“While you were away, we used our time useful,” Minho started and I almost blushed at his wording, “and we decided to merge both companies completely.” He looked at me to go on.

 

“Both companies have their strength and weaknesses. By doing a full merge we can enhance the strengths, limit the weaknesses and we can keep delivering the products we always have. Any questions?”

 

It was late by now and seeing as we came up with a fairly solid plan, no one really objected. We decided to work out the details later.

 

“Mr Choi, Mr Kim, can I see both of you in my office, now? The rest of you can go home. Have a nice evening,” I said. I walked to my office with the two men following me.

 

“Can’t say goodbye to me yet?” Minho asked softly as he caught up with me.

 

“Mr Kim is as much employed by you as he is employed by me,” I simply answered. I let the two men in my office.

“Since, you are no longer needed, uhm Mr Kim? You are dismissed,” I said. He must have seen it coming yet he still seemed upset.

 

"You will regret this. Your plan will fail, you need a structured approach, you'll never manage a full merge. You need me."  As he talked he came closer, seemingly to threaten me, standing with balled fists. Minho stepped between us. 

 

"That is quite enough. You're getting paid for the rest of the month. However, if you become a danger to the company or its people, we will sue you," he calmly explained.

 

Mr Kim left fuming. Minho turned around and we shared a look. He leaned in and kissed me softly. If he kept kissing me like this, the spark between us would continue growing. I didn't know if it was a good idea, but I wanted it. 

 

“You are hungry, right? Let’s go out for a late night dinner,” he said. I agreed, we still had to eat anyway.

 

‘I feel like it will be a long night,” I said as we walked out of my office.

 

“If you say so,” Minho grinned.


	2. Late night dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are again! A new chapter! Feedback is welcome! Enjoy reading :)

I made my way out of the building and I could feel his eyes on my ass. I turned around and he looked up at me.

"Your car or my car?" I asked.

 

"My car? I can drop you off again later," he said. I agreed and walked to his car and got in.  
He drove to a restaurant not too far away and walked in. Soon I realized he must come here often.

 

"Mr Choi, oh and a lady," the waiter said in surprise before taking us to our table. I wondered if he really never came with other women here and felt flattered.  
  
We ordered food and got talking, about the company, financial stuff, but before dessert, it took a more personal turn. I started running my foot up his leg, causing him to stop mid-sentence. I smiled innocently. 

 

"We can go now and have dessert somewhere else," I said suggestively. He didn’t need to be asked twice. He paid quickly and he drove me to his house.

 

 

He closed the door behind me and before I knew it I was being pinned against the door, he was kissing me vigorously and I pulled him closer by the hem of his vest. He was groping me and I moaned into the kiss. He picked me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist. He walked to his bedroom with me and laid me on the bed, kissing down my neck and my collarbone. I pulled on his hair and he looked up with lustful eyes before looking back down, unbuttoning my shirt and kissing every part of skin as he went down, leaving my skin on fire. 

 

 

______

 

 

Minho laid down beside me and held me in his arms. I wondered if I should go, but I didn’t have my car. Then he muttered one word.

 

“Stay.”

 

So I did. I turned around and snuggled closer to him, entangling my legs with his. He pulled me a bit closer and we both dozed off within minutes.

 

 

I woke up from Minho’s alarm. His arms were still around me, legs still entangled. He moved one arm away to put the alarm off. He looked back at me.

 

“Good morning.”

 

“Morning,” I replied. He moved closer to me and kissed me softly. Butterflies flared up in my stomach.

 

“I’ll go and get breakfast ready,” he said. He gave another small kiss and moved from under the blanket, got into his boxer shorts and walked out. I looked around for my underwear and a shirt, no use in bothering with anything else. I walked to the mirror and fixed my hair. Then I looked down and gasped. Not one or two but at least five hickeys were covering my neck.  
  
I walked out of the room, trying to find the kitchen following the smell of coffee. I walked in and saw him reading the newspaper.

 

“Minho, how many hickeys did you give me?” I asked. He looked up and smiled smugly.

 

“I think they look good on you,” he said. I rolled my eyes and walked up to the counter.

“Coffee?” he asked. I nodded. He handed me a mug.

 

“Can we stop by my house later? I can’t go to work in the same clothes as yesterday,” I said.

 

“You definitely can’t go like that,” he said smiling, eyeing me up and down, “although I wouldn’t mind.”

 

The toasts jumped up so he took them and set them on a plate and we both sat down at the table.

 

 

Minho parked in front of my house and stepped out, waiting for me to lead the way. I walked in and told him he could wait in the kitchen or living room while I hurried to change clothes. It was gradually getting later and arriving late would be suspicious if my car was already there. I threw on what I could find and then tried to cover up the hickeys with concealer.

I walked back to the living room, Minho in his suit, me with fresh and neat clothes on, nothing to be seen, right? Then I looked at his neck. Oh no, a hickey. I dragged him up to my bathroom and he raised an eyebrow.

 

“I need to cover your hickey,” I explained.

 

“Too bad, I thought we were doing something else,” he joked.

 

“We should arrive before the rest does, we have no time for other stuff,” I explained.

 

“Only joking, I know,” he said, kissing my cheek.

 

“Just sit still for a minute, okay?” I said. He focused on my face while I was covering the hickey.

 

“Stop staring at me,” I mumbled. He rolled his eyes and closed them. I finished covering it up and hesitated but still leaned in to kiss him. His eyes fluttered opened and he leaned closer, holding me to him, sharing another kiss.

 

“We really should get going,” Minho said. I nodded and put my stuff away and we finally made our way to work. I could see my assistant had already arrived. We walked in and she saw me and gave me a knowing look.  _Damn_. 

________ 

 

Minho laid down beside me on the bed, trying to catch his breath, I turned onto my side and he pulled me closer to him so I could rest my head on his shoulder. Today had been a long day of doing a lot of paperwork and negotiating some smaller things. After the look my assistant had given me this morning, she kept an eye on us all day, but she didn't say a thing. Minho and I didn't really talk about what we were and we were even planning to leave alone with our own car. Somehow he made it into my bed at my house. We didn't even have dinner yet.   
  
"Are you hungry?" I asked him after a minute of silence. He kept his eyes closed, his thumb caressing my back. 

 

"Just be silent for a bit," he told me. I laid my head back down and studied his face.

"Minho, where is this going?" I asked. He opened his eyes and looked at me. He took his time to think it over. 

 

"I don't know," he replied. 

 

"It's just... with our companies and all," I muttered. 

 

"Don't you think I know that? I'm not exactly sure what is happening... I'd say let's just enjoy the moment and not worry about problems that aren't here yet," he said, kissing the top of my head. I smiled at the touch.

"Well, okay then," I said. He closed his eyes again. I leaned on my elbow to give a peck on his lips and his eyes fluttered back open. I smiled and leaned back in, his arm wrapped tighter around me and pulled me on top of him, kissing me back. My tongue slipped out and I licked his lips, and he willingly opened them. He kissed me deeply, his hands running up and down my back. I leaned back when I started feeling turned on again. He looked up at me and sat up, our faces barely apart.

 

"Let's get dinner," he said, kissing me again. 

 

We agreed to order pizza. I gave Minho some sweatpants to wear so he didn't have to wear his suit again. But I had no shirt that would fit so he walked around without. I put on proper clothes so I could answer the door once the delivery man came. I walked into the living room in skinnies and a shirt. I could feel Minho's eyes on me. 

 

"What?" I asked. 

 

"That is quite a look, and very different," he noted. It was a big change from my business attire and Minho seemed to like it.   
  
We ate our pizzas on the ground in the living room, sitting across from each other. Minho finished his pizza first, when I was ready I closed the box and pushed it away. Minho crawled closer to me. I raised my eyebrows in question. He kissed me softly. I raised my hand and held his head, my fingers entangling in his hair. He sighed into the kiss, but leaned away before it could go any further.

 

"I better get home," he said, "we raised enough suspicion today as it is." I nodded and he stood up and walked back to my room to change into his suit. I busied myself with cleaning up our pizza boxes and putting the rest of the dishes away. He came back downstairs with his suit on and I walked him to the door.

 

"I guess I'll see you at work," I said. He nodded and pulled me close again, kissing me softly.

 

He walked through the door and said, "You should wear skinny jeans more often," before stepping into his car. I shook my head and rolled my eyes before walking back to the living room. I watched some tv and went to bed early. I had some sleep to catch up on from last night.

  
Yet I couldn't really fall asleep. This thing with Minho was only going on since yesterday but my head was completely stuck on it. Of course it had been going on longer than that. I was quite awe-struck when I first met him on a conference a bit over a year ago. We talked a bit after, compared our companies and exchanged ideas. Then a few weeks later I saw him again on a conference about the economic crisis. It was explained to us there that with an economic crisis comes choices. And you have to take the right decision. At that point, we realized our companies should work together in order to co-exist, but at that point we didn't really take a decision. But as the weeks passed, it became clear that they had been right. We had meeting after meeting and the more I got to know him the more I seemed to like him. That made the meetings bare-able, it was rather tedious otherwise. So merging companies to minimize loss and hooking up with him had somehow met up. I had had been waiting for a solution for both problems and they were resolved quite elegantly. Well, not super elegantly. After all we didn't seem to be able to keep our hands of each other and it could get us in all kinds of trouble. So in between wanting Minho and knowing it would be less complicated if we managed to keep our pants on; and companies with mountains of paperwork, I didn't manage to fall asleep for quite some time. 


	3. Taking charge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is up! I hope you enjoy ^^ Thanks for the kudos

When I arrived at work, it appeared as Minho wasn't doing so well himself. Even though we were waiting for contracts to be officially make the companies one, now we were negotiating about where we would move, since we had agreed to move both companies to keep it fair, and which jobs stayed and which had to go, something that's never easy. Then we also had to agree on who would become official head of the company. We would both have equal say in everything, but when it came to it, that person would be held responsible legally and had to make the final choice if it came to it. We were both up for it and we didn't seem to agree whom it should be. His assistant made a proposal. 

 

"How about this, you both hand in your résumé and a motivation letter and then you both have to come talk with the members of the board, like some kind of jury?" she said. I eyed Minho.

 

"That seems fair to me," I said, and he agreed. So we both went home early in the afternoon to prepare for our talk with the jury and to write our letters. The next day we both arrived at the office, we handed in our letter and résumé. We were told to wait outside so they could read it first before we'd have to go in separately to talk. We both sat on the chairs outside the meeting room.

  
"Hey, no matter what happens, no hard feelings, right? We'll still both be the boss," he said. I looked at him so see if he meant it.

 

"Sure, I mean I know you'd do a good job but so might I," I said.

 

"I know. And in any case, we'll have something to celebrate tonight," he smiled smugly at me. I hit his shoulder.

 

"Can you not say stuff like that in here?" I said. He only smiled and leaned back in his chair in silence.  
  
"Mr Choi?" came from the door. We both looked up.

 

"We'll see you first," she said. Minho stood up and smoothed his suit. He walked passed me and to the door.

 

"Good luck," I said, but I only got a short nod back, he was clearly nervous. The door closed and I was left alone with my mind. It put me at ease to know he was stressing out about it too. After a few minutes I was getting nervous. It was taking longer than I expected and I was starting to wonder what they were asking him and more important, what they would be asking me. It seemed to take ages. At last the door opened. Minho walked out and I stood up. 

 

"Good luck," he said, I smiled and went in.   


After a talk that seemed to take ages they told me I could go and they'd call when they had decided.

 

"Lunch?" I asked once I was outside. Minho nodded. We stepped into the elevator together. Minho pushed the button and the door closed. It only took one slight glance towards him and we simply jumped at each other. Our lips met almost violently, his hands were on the side of my face pulling me closer. I moaned into his mouth and he only grasped me tighter. When we felt the elevator slow down we broke apart, shared a short look of understanding. By the time the 'ping' from the elevator came, we looked like nothing had happened. 

We made our way to the cafeteria and sat down for lunch. We were talking about our interview when I suddenly stopped. He frowned at me.

 

"If something happens between us, one of being boss can be negative for the other," I explained in a whisper, no need for people overhearing us.

 

"You're really not letting that go, are you?" He asked. I sighed.

 

" I can't, I am sorry," I said.

 

"Well, we can't turn back time," Minho said. I nodded.

 

"We can only be stuck in whatever this is or move forward," I said. 

 

"Are you suggesting...?" Minho asked. I shrugged.

 

"Well, that's.. uhm," Minho was saved when his phone rang.

 

"They've made a decision," he said. We went up in silence.   
  
"We've made our decision. It wasn't easy but we agreed, you will be the official boss,” they said to me.  My jaw dropped in surprise. Minho smiled and held out his hand.

 

"Congratulations, you deserve it," he said and shook my hand, I could tell he was being honest. 

 

"Thank you."

 

"Why don't we all go out and have dinner to celebrate?" Minho proposed. They all agreed. I rolled my eyes. If that was his plan to ignoring what had just happened downstairs, I was not having it. 

 

"Well, there is a lot of paperwork to do now and tomorrow we have a new company building to look at, so we better get going," his assistant said. Minho left with his employees and we'd all meet at the restaurant. Once it was calm I made my way to my assistant's desk.

 

"So how's everything going?" I asked. She looked up and smiled.

 

"Oh, quite alright. A bit busier but it's alright," she said. I smiled.

 

"Glad to hear that," I replied.

 

"Can I ask you something?" she said. I nodded hesitantly.

 

"If there is one boss, does that mean there will only be one assistant?" she asked, taking me by surprise.

 

"No, I mean the tasks might get a bit different but overall no," I replied. She smiled.

 

"You thought I was going to ask something else, right? she said. I looked away.

 

"Maybe," I answered.

 

"It's none of my concern really, don't you think?" she replied.

 

I smiled back at her, "I suppose so."   
  
Dinner went by calmly although I saw Minho down quite a lot of wine. We all left soon since we'd have work the next day and Minho and I went home separately, having not been able to talk in private.  I was quite surprised when my doorbell rang two hours later. I opened the door to find Minho standing there, slightly swaying.

  
"Have you been drinking?" I asked. He shrugged.

 

"Maybe," he answered, walking towards me.

 

"And you drove here?" I asked, closing the door behind him.

 

"I am perfectly capable of driving," he said. I shook my head.

 

"Hand over your car keys, you're not going anywhere while you're drunk," I said. He sighed but still took his keys and laid them in my hand. I tossed them in a drawer.

 

"Look I lied," Minho started, "I do want to move forward one way or another. And I am not sure if this is going to work and what's ahead of us but I like it when you're in my arms and I get this warm woozy feeling inside of me whenever I look at you," things a sober Minho had a hard time expressing.

 

"Oh Minho," I said, hugging him tight. 

 

"You just caught me a bit off-guard earlier, I've had my eye on you since we've met," he said, burying his face in my hair. He pulled me back a bit and looked me in the eye.

 

"Will you be my girlfriend?" he asked. 

 

"Oh you goofball, yes!" I said. He smiled and kissed me, still in a tight embrace. 

 

"Maybe we should keep it silent for a bit though," he said a few seconds later. I nodded. I took his hand and dragged him to the couch.

 

"So Miss Boss," he said. I laughed and snorted.

 

"You're still the boss yourself, stop saying that," I replied. He only smiled and pulled me on his lap. 

 

"We should do netflix and chill...." I suggested, taking the tv-remote and putting the tv on.

 

"Oh, so we are actually watching something?" Minho said, his hand finding his way too my thigh. I slapped his hand away.

 

"Yes, we are actually watching something." 

A little bit later I found myself down on the ground, undressed, in his lap with my legs wrapped tightly around his waist.  

   
I took a good look at him, like really looked at him. His eyes met mine. The cloudiness of being drunk was long gone and instead his brown eyes only held love I didn't notice before. I laid one hand on his chest, his heart beating steadily but rapidly under my fingertips. I leaned in and kissed him, my other hand on his neck to hold him close. His grip tightened slightly as he pulled me closer before they slid up my back and into my hair. He bit my lower lip softly and licked my lips, kissing me tenderly. After a while we moved to the couch and watched the ending of the movie we had completely missed. His hand was on my back, his thumb caressing my back soothingly. Minho pulled a blanket over both of us to keep us warm. When the movie ended, we didn't move, enjoying our tight embrace, limbs all tangled together. One of ourhands with our fingers tangled together as we dozed off to sleep together. 


	4. Doubt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few hours later than usual but it's here! Enjoy!

"Now I can tell people my girlfriend is the boss of a big company," Minho said smugly when he saw I had woken up. He was grinning because he knew it would annoy me. I hid my face in his chest.

 

"Oh shut up," I said, not looking at him.

 

"Is someone in a morning mood?" Minho asked. I frowned at him and he smiled back.

 

"You are not having second thoughts, are you?" he asked when I gave no other reply for a while.  I shook my head quickly. 

 

"Why would I have second thoughts? You were the one being drunk," I replied, sitting up to look at him, dragging part of the blanket to cover myself up.

 

"Well I am sorry about being drunk, but everything I said is true and I do not regret it," he told me, tucking my hair behind my ear.

 

"I should get you drunk more often," I concluded. He shot me a look.

 

"Well, you admit to more things when you're drunk and it was nice to hear," I explained. He nodded in understanding. 

 

"I know. I try to open up more when I am sober, but it's just easier to say some things when I am drunk," he said, his hands caressing my side.

 

"Yes, I got that. It's okay, you were really cute," I said. He laughed.

 

"The thing you want to hear as a man is that you are cute," he said sarcastically. I shrugged.

 

"Maybe not," I smiled back.

 

"Let's go, we have three buildings to look at today," Minho said. I leaned in and kissed him softly. I slipped from under the blanket and took my shirt and underwear from where I last left it and made my way upstairs, oblivious to Minho staring after me.  
  
I was half dressed when Minho walked back in.

 

"Where are my keys?" he asked.

 

"I hid them well, I see," I said while closing the last button of my shirt. I walked downstairs with Minho behind me. I opened one of the drawers and lifted the papers up and took his keys out. I put them in his hand.

 

"If you drunk drive again you won't be seeing them again," I said. He nodded.

 

"I know, it was a bad moment, it won't happen again," he said. I smiled.

 

"Now I got to go home and change, I'll see you at the office?" he said.

 

"Sure! ...If this is serious we might as well exchange some outfits so neither of us has to go back home first all the time," I said.

 

"Good plan," he nodded, kissing me goodbye. He walked to his car and I waved as he drove off before closing the door and finished getting ready. 

 

I arrived at the office a small hour later, Minho had already arrived. Once everyone was there, we left to look at the first building. Our assistants and two advisors were travelling along to view the buildings. The first building was already a no for me before we even got in. It was an old and short building that stretched left and right to cover the whole street. The windows were small and it was in a vacant neighbourhood. I could see Minho looking at it and thinking the same thing. Nevertheless we went to look inside so we didn't upset the seller.  
We were out in 30 minutes, we kept it as short as possible since we weren't really interested.

  
The next building was much more to our liking. It was a tall building with lots of windows. It gave us the possibility to have joint offices and have a conference room nearby. We could also use every floor for a certain department and it had a good security system installed so no one could use the elevator without badging or enter certain areas without authorization. It was easy to reach by car and had an underground parking. It was quite to my liking. After being showed around and being treated on coffee, we left again.

 

Then it was on to the last building, which was also great, but not as much as the second we saw. Traffic was busier and we would need to make some adjustments while the other just needed furniture. But when they asked us at the end what we thought of it, we asked if could look around for a few more minutes. This building was cheaper but it also needed more money put in. So I looked for a separate room so I could talk it over with Minho. We walked into an office and closed the door. 

 

"What do you think?" he asked.

 

"Well, this one is cheaper, but we'll need to take down some walls and re-organise. It's going to cost us money and time. The other one is nearly ready to go, it's the better option," I explained. 

 

"Yeah I thought so too," he said. Then he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. His hand slipped down to my chin and held it there, leaning in for a kiss. I shot him a look.

 

"What if anyone sees?" I asked. Minho shrugged.

 

"There is barely anyone here and the door is closed," Minho said. He kissed me and smiled.

 

"See, nothing bad happened," after which he turned around and left the room.  
  
After leaving the final building we went back to the office to talk over it with the advisors and to make the deal with the seller. They ended up advising us to take the second building like we wanted since price/quality wise, it was our best option. We made sure everyone agreed and then contacted the seller to seal the deal.   
  
Minho and I drove to his home separately just to keep up our secret. We opened a bottle of wine to celebrate finding a building, and still a little bit for me getting to be CEO since we didn't really 'celebrate' it before. Minho offered to cook dinner so I let him. He certainly knew his way around the kitchen and in 30 minutes a delicious meal was in front of me.   
  
"About our kiss this afternoon," I started while we were doing the dishes. Minho set his plate down.

 

"If you are going to tell me we can't kiss at all at work you're in trouble because I thought that was kind of our thing," he said, giving me a wink. I grinned in reply and slapped him on the arm playfully.

 

"Okay, fair enough. I just don't want to get caught," I said.

 

"What are they going to do? Fire us? We are in charge," Minho told me, only half joking now. 

 

"Not like that but they might blame us for us favouring each other instead of other people if it came to it," I said, taking another plate and adding it to the growing pile of dishes, since Minho has stopped drying them.

 

"What are you saying? This isn't a good idea?" he asked leaning against the counter. He looked hurt and I regretted bringing it up. I took my hands out of the water and quickly dried them on my pants. 

 

"No no, Minho, that's not what I am saying. Not at all. I am just a bit scared, that's all," I told him, taking his hands and squeezing reassuringly. He sighed and kept looking down. 

 

"This is already the second time you're asking me this, today. What's going on? If you're having second thoughts you can just say so," I told him, letting go of his hands. He looked up. 

 

"I thought after yesterday we established that this is not the case," he simply replied. I sighed.

 

"I thought so too... What's going on then?" I asked him. He bit his lip and avoided my gaze again. 

 

"Well, you and I both know you can do better than me. It's only a matter of time before you realise that, or you find someone who is better than me."

 

"I can't believe this," I turned around and rubbed my head in disbelief, "why do you think I can do better?" I turned back around to look at him. 

 

"Well, that's easy. You're smart, independent, beautiful and really nice, a lot of guys want you," he said. I looked up at him puzzled.

"What?" I took another deep breath, "Though I appreciate the compliments, this isn't about me. That's not the point. Why do you think you're less than any guy?"

 

"For everything! So many men are better than me, kinder, smarter, and I am sure they'd all stand in line for you, you've only got to pick one," he said, voicing his insecurities. I took his hand in mine again.

 

"And I picked you. You are kind and you are smart and you're so much more. Are there people who are smarter? Yes. Are there people who are kinder? Maybe. But I don't care about them. You're wonderful and I love you for who you are," I told him sincerely. 

 

"You love me?" he asked softly, barely audible. It had slipped over my lips so easily I hadn't even realised I said it. 

 

"Yeah I do. And whether you want it or not, you're not getting rid of me any time soon." Minho didn't reply but simply pulled me closer, his chin resting softly on the top of my head as he hugged me. I squeezed his waist, hugging him back.

 

"Are you done doubting yourself and me?"  I asked.

 

"Yes, I am sorry." 

 

"It's okay." 

 

That night was a quiet night and unlike the previous ones. We spent the evening cuddling on the couch watching tv and when we went to sleep, Minho held me close as if he had the intention to stay there forever with me. He entangled his fingers with mine and rubbed his thumb in circles on my hand until he fell asleep.

 


	5. Oysters

Now that the negotiations were over and most the paperwork for the merge was done, we both spent most of our time in our respective firms to prepare for the move. This meant we didn't see each other throughout the day as much as we used to but at the end of the day we always met up at either his place or mine. Minho thought it was a good idea to surprise me this Friday evening. He stepped out of the elevator and walked towards my office.

 

"Is she in?" he asked my assistant. She nodded and pushed a button on her telephone. 

 

"Mr Choi is here, can I send him in?" she said through the intercom.

 

"Sure," I replied. 

 

"You can go in," she told Minho. He thanked her and walked into my office and closed the door behind him.

 

"So Mr Choi, what a delight to see you." He smiled at me and walked over to me and pecked me softly on the lips before taking a seat across from me at the desk. 

 

"So what brings you here?" I asked, laying my papers aside. 

 

I had a question and thought, why not go ask it in person?" he smiled at me. "Well, I was wondering if we're going to let some pens and other stationaries made for our firm, with the logo and everything. I think it would look neat."  I gave him a judging look. This wasn't urgent or important enough to come over for.   
  
"It would be great," I told him, "there's a firm we used to work with, I'll look them up." I typed their name in and scrolled through the pen options. Minho joined me behind my desk. I scrolled down to point out the pens we used to have when I felt his lips softly on my neck, making a shiver go down my spine.

 

"Minho..." I tried to object but I didn't move away. His tongue traced a part of the skin on my neck.

 

"I swear to god if you leave a hickey, I will kill you," I said. My assistant had perfect timing and knocked on the door. Minho righted himself and focused on the screen.

 

 I took a breath and said, "enter."

 

"I am heading home, are you finishing up?" she asked.

 

"Yeah, we are just looking at some pens," I replied, pointing at the screen.

 

"See you on monday," she replied, looking a little puzzled while she left my office and closed the door. I face-palmed myself while I could hear Minho chuckle behind me.

 

"We're looking at pens," he mockingly imitated me, "very convincing."

 

"Let's put it this way, I was looking at pens," I replied. He turned my chair around towards him and placed his hands on the arm rests. He moved one hand to support my chin and leaned closer. 

 

"I missed you today." He closed the gap and kissed me softly. I put my arms around his neck and moved my lips against his. He moved from my lips down to my jaw and down my neck, leaving kisses everywhere. His hands pulled my blouse up slightly, wrinkling it in his grip. 

 

"Hold on," I told him, he halted his movements. I walk to the door and check if my assistant really had gone. Then I locked the door of my office and Minho smiled knowingly. We had the same idea.

 

_____________

 

"I've made a reservation in your favourite restaurant. It's in an hour," Minho told me. 

 

"I don't remember telling you my favourite restaurant," I told him. He smiled.

 

"You talked about it a few months ago, and I guess I remembered," Minho told me, "you were talking to your assistant about it, you were going with your boyfriend from back then." I frowned. As far as I could remember I didn't have a boyfriend at that time. 

 

"I wasn't dating anyone back then," I told him. Now it was his turn to frown.

"Then who's the guy called Eric?" he said, as if he caught me lying. I rolled my eyes at him.

 

"My brother?" It was silent for a second or two.

 

"Oh, that explains a lot," Minho said as he realised his confusion. 

 

"Yeah. But it's very sweet you remembered." I smiled. 

 

"Let's go and then we can change at my place before," I said. I arranged my desk so it looked neat again and then we left. We walked through the corridor and when we turned in the next we noticed the cleaning lady at one of the desks. 

 

"Do you think she heard us?" Minho asked, a tiny bit alarmed.

 

"I'm pretty sure she's deaf," I replied.

 

"Really?" 

 

"No, that was a joke. But she uses headphones so I'm pretty sure she didn't hear anything." I told him, pointing at her headphones. Minho looked relieved. We entered the elevator and Minho reached out to hold my hand. 

 

We arrived at my house and I went to put on a dress and Minho changed shirts since we had wrinkled the other one quite badly. I retouched my make-up a little bit. When I came down and entered the room Minho gave a whistle as appreciation. I shook my head at him.

 

__________ 

 

"So what are you ordering?" Minho asked. I was scanning through the menu. 

 

"I think I'll take the lobster," I replied.

 

"You should take the oysters with that," Minho told me.

 

I frowned. "Why?"

 

"Aren't they supposed to be an aphrodisiac?" he said with a smile. 

 

"Yes, but do we really need that?" I replied. He shrugged.

 

"Maybe not."

 

"What are you ordering?" I asked him. 

 

"Well, maybe you should recommend me something. I've never been here before." he replied. I scanned the menu for things he'd like.

 

"I really like the lobster and the pasta is good too. But I think you'd like the shrimp dish the best." 

 

"Then I'll go with that." He put down his menu. 

 

"Are you ready to order?" the waiter asked. I nodded.

 

"I'll have the lobster. And whatever wine goes best with that," I said.

 

"I'll take the shrimp and the same wine," Minho said. The waiter nodded while he wrote it down.

 

"And also a shared plate of oysters if that's possible?" Minho winked at me cheekily. 

 

"Certainly, sir," the waiter replied as he noted everything down and left.

 

"You're unbelievable," I commented. 

 

___________

 

"So, are those oysters working yet for you?" Minho asked on the way out of the restaurant. 

 

"Nope."

 

"Really?"

 

"Honestly with all that food I just need to lay down for at least half an hour," I told him.

 

"And what then?" he asked.

 

"I'll get back to you on that." 

 

I woke up the next morning naked, my legs entangled with Minho's and my head resting on his chest. I could see on the clock it was 11am. Usually I hated sleeping in but after all we did end up having a late night yesterday. I lifted my head up to see Minho was sleepily opening his eyes. I kissed him softly.

 

"Good morning," he said while caressing my back with the hand that was wrapped around me. 

 

"Morning, sweetie," I replied, smiling happily. 

 

"I told you the oysters were going to work," Minho said, remembering last night.

 

"It wasn't the oysters!" I told him again.

 

"How was it not the oysters?" he replied.

 

"It's scientifically proven that it's more of a placebo effect. Since I know it's a placebo it doesn't work. You were naked and dancing. I couldn't have ignored you if

I tried," I explained. He smiled at me.

 

"You're saying it were my great seduction skills," Minho asked.

 

"Or your dancing was that horrible that I had to do something to make you stop," I said. He faked being hurt.

 

"Did you have to say that?" he asked.

"Well, you didn't want to let it go," I said, "besides you know I'm joking. I loved your dancing."

 

"I can dance some more," Minho replied, raising his eyebrows suggestively and wiggling his butt.

 

"Maybe later," I laughed.

 

"So what do we have planned today. I know you have a no work-rule so the whole weekend is free to us," Minho said.

 

"Well, I thought maybe breakfast or brunch in bed. I found this great place where you can order it, we don't even have to prepare it."

 

"Ooh neat. Let's do that first and then plan the rest. I'm hungry," Minho said. I slipped out of bed to grab my Ipad. Minho propped up the pillows against the bed and I joined under the blanket again in Minho's arms. We ended up ordering eggs, bacon, croissants and some other stuff. 

 

"Who's getting out of bed to open the door?" I asked. I was comfortable and didn't really want to get out.

 

"I'll go," Minho replied.

 

"Wow, that enthusiastically?" I commented. He smiled at me.

 

"Well, if you get up you need to get dressed and then I have to unwrap all those layers again later on and then there's less objection from your side," he smiled.

 

"You know the right answer was 'but honey, I like to treat you well and do things for you because seeing you happy makes me happy'," I said to him.

 

"Well, that too," Minho said, kissing me before slipping out of bed to put his pants on before the delivery arrived. 

 


	6. Mr Kim

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next to last chapter! Are you excited for the last one? I am! Enjoy! Thank you for kudos and commenting!

Everything was going well. We moved into the new building pretty quickly. We were still happily together. Minho practically moved into my house since it was closer to the office. And as if we didn't spend enough time together, we also had adjoining offices so we could walk into each other's office all the time. We usually left the door open and though I could not see him, I could hear him silently typing away on his computer. We had to make strict rules about work and home because after one fight that started at work and lasted through the whole night, we had to make some rules about separating the two. I was also quite sure our assistants were totally on to us and considering they now shared an office, I assumed there was a little gossip between the two. But I knew my assistant well enough to be discreet about it. Everything went fine for a few weeks.

 

On a Friday about two months after we moved into the new building, we were greeted by our lawyer, Mr. Ango, who demanded a meeting with the both of us but no one else.

 

“I know I don’t usually come directly to you but this concerns you. And I’m afraid it’s not good,” he said, sitting down across from us.

 

“What is it about?” I asked. Mr Ango cleared his throat.

 

“I’ve picked up on some things. I don’t know if they’re true but your competition wants to use it against you,” he said. We urged him to go on. “They have implied that you two were involved during the signing of the contracts and they want to use it to annul your contract and start a scandal.” Minho and I shared a look. We had been careful, almost no one knew, yet somehow our competition knew.

 

“So I am guessing you two are actually involved,” Mr Ango stated more than asked. We nodded. I felt like a kid being caught doing something that wasn’t allowed.

 

“And were you actually involved during the signing of the contracts?” he asked.

 

“It kind of happened simultaneously,” Minho said, “but not when we started the negotiations.”

 

“That’s good, that can help,” Mr Ango. “We need to do several things to avoid our competition using it against us. I can only advice you and you decide what you do next. The good news is, all board members signed the contracts, that means it does not depend on you two and it makes it harder on them. Second of all, we need to find out who leaked the information. If it is someone who is employed here, they’re legally restricted from sharing this information and the competition can do nothing with the information.”

 

“Almost no one knows ...” I went over the people who it could be. Our assistants came to mind immediately. I trusted them but you could never know for sure... and the security guard could also know. He could have seen us leave together or arrive together because he was here almost any hour. I didn’t think he would care to share the information but I imagined if he was offered money, it was a possibility.

 

We went over who it could be with the lawyer and he would investigate that further.

 

“A third point is, even if they legally can’t get to you, which I hope we will manage, they will still try to make a scandal out of it, go to the press. It’s not only going to give a bad reputation towards clients etcetera but also internally amongst your employees. The only option to not risk that, is to come public about your relationship.”

 

The one thing we had been avoiding for months. Although it would make some things less complicated, it would also complicate how we work together and it was a big step to take. Our relationship was stable and we were confident about it, but going public was a whole other thing.

 

“Can you give us a few minutes to discuss? But don’t go anywhere, I want to have a solution today,” I said. Mr Ango stood up and exited the room. I let out a groan. Minho hesitantly reached out and held my hand.

 

“It’s our best option,” he offered his opinion. “We’re happy together, right? We knew we would come clean about it sometime.”

 

I sighed and nodded. “I know, I just wish we could do it on our own time.”

 

We talked it over for a little bit but we knew it had to be done anyway. We called the lawyer back in.

 

“We will announce it at the annual party, which is a week from now. It’s not ideal but that is what has to be done.” 

 

Mr Ango nodded. “Good. Then we can also try and figure out who slipped this information.”

 

 

When I arrived home I set my bag down while Minho entered as well. Soon we’d travel with one car and arrive at the same time. He approached me and hugged me from the back. I leaned into him.

 

“That’s not how that was supposed to go,” Minho murmured. I turned around in his arms.

 

“Yeah, I know,” I said. “I love you, babe.”

 

He kissed me softly, “I love you too.”

 

 

Our weekend didn’t start as planned and despite what we had promised, we spend a lot of time talking about work all day. We decided to inform the board members and our assistants on Monday so they had time to prepare so they could do their job properly. The rest would wait until Friday.

 

The board of members were not amused but they were happy that we were dealing with it properly and taking the right steps. Our assistants exchanged knowing glances but had no further comments.

 

After work on Friday we went home to prepare for the party. I was about to change into my dress when Minho pulled me close to kiss me.

 

“You’re amazing, babe,” Minho told me. I hugged him a little closer.

 

“You’re pretty awesome yourself,” I said. Minho leaned in to kiss me when we were disturbed by a phone call. We shared a look and I took my phone from the dresser. Mr. Ango was calling. We had gone over who it could be, but it quickly turned out neither of our assistants were in on it. Now he called with more news.

 

“Miss, we know who leaked the information. It was Mr. Kim,” he told me. I tried to remember but I couldn’t really remember an employee called Kim.

 

“Wait, who?” I asked. Minho tried hearing into the conversation, so I switched on speaker.

 

“Mr Kim. The person who was initially hired to plan out the merger.” We locked eyes. _Oh, that guy._ He hadn’t seen much as far as we knew.

 

“I just found out. I don’t think he has much to go on. I will read through his contract and I’ll call you back in a few minutes,” Mr Ango said. I thanked him and ended the call.

 

“Well, the worst that he could have had was an inkling... or he must have been watching us because he was bitter,” I said, trying to remember the day I fired him. Minho looked a bit more upset than I was. I asked him why.

 

“What if he saw us in the conference room... having sex,” Minho said. A shiver went down my spine. I had to check with my assistant if he went downstairs with them or not.

 

“Oh dear lord,” I let out. Before we got any further, we got another call from Mr Ango, bringing good news.

 

“He signed a non-disclosure because the merger can be a delicate process. Legally he has nothing to go on. You know what their next step is going to be. We are getting ahead of that today. Still, I’d suggest expecting some form of article in the papers,” Mr Ango said.

 

Minho sat down on the side of the bed to process all that. I sat across his lap and kissed him softly but he didn’t really react. I lifted my hands up and massaged his temples and then his nose, something that made him relax. When I kissed him again, he happily leaned into me and pulled me closer to him.

 

“We can do this, babe. What we have ... it’s beyond amazing and yeah it is not going to be perfect but we are dealing with it head on. It is going to be alright. I love you, honey,” I told him, holding him as I placed a kiss on his temple.

 

“I love you too... For a second that sounded like a proposal to me,” Minho said. I chuckled.

 

“I am already in charge at work, proposing would be your job,” I told him.

 

“I know you’re joking but I’d totally do it,” Minho murmured. I leaned back to read his expression.

 

“I didn’t think we were quite there yet but maybe we are,” I said. Minho’s eyes softened as he smiled and if it was possible I loved him even more. With that we stood up because we really did need to get ready now. That conversation had certainly put Minho in a better mood. It’s not like we would be engaged next week or even this year, but the fact we both agreed that’s what we wanted, was enough on itself.


	7. Out in the open

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading up until now! I hope you like the ending *nervously sweats*

I was ready to start my speech. Minho was giving a short introduction, but wasn’t saying a word about the news I was bringing. I looked into the crowd of employees, a little amazed by what we had achieved. I had asked the caterer to provide plenty of drinks, in the hopes it would make them a little more laid back. Minho introduced me and I went to stand in front of the mic, more nervous than I had been in a long while. Minho stood a little behind me on the right as I started talking.

 

First I went over what we had achieved in the last year, about our products, our mind-set and our fundraisers, then I went on to set out goals for the next year, encouraging them to keep working as they were. Then came the hard part.

 

“Now there is other news I wanted to share. I usually do not share personal information, but as it concerns you as well, I wanted to tell you today. For a while now I have been in a stable relationship, with Mr. Choi Minho,” I said. I could feel the eyes in the hall slide from me to Minho and back, who stood silently all the while.

 

“I know it is not ideal, but it happened. I want to ensure you that we are strictly keeping work and our personal lives separated. Now, it has recently come to our attention that our competition want to use our relationship to question our contracts and to cause a scandal. We decided to share it today, so we can move forward being honest and open. So you will be able to answer questions our clients may have. Thank you for your time. Have a nice evening.”

 

I walked off the stage and Minho followed behind me as I heard the chatter in the hall start up again. We split up to keep on chatting with different people. After half an hour I bumped into both Minho and our assistants.

 

“What are they saying?” I asked. My assistant smiled.

 

“Oh, they’re mostly saying it was about time you had a serious relationship,” she said. I rolled my eyes. I had been focusing on my career and I might never have not gotten past the first or second date with the exception of one guy.

 

“No serious relationships, huh?” he asked. Exes wasn’t a subject we had touched upon yet. I gave a non-committal shrug.

 

“What about you?” I asked. Minho smiled.

 

“Oh, I am not telling you now,” he said.

 

“Aw, come on! You know if you don’t tell me, I’ll ask your assistant,” I tried. To my surprise his assistant shook her head.

 

“Alright then.” I decided to drop the subject.

 

 

 

We arrived home at 2 a.m. I sat down on the couch and happily took my high heels off and put my feet up on the couch. Minho got a glass of water from the fridge and then joined me. He lifted my feet and sat down on the couch. He started massaging my sore feet.

 

“I am sorry for asking about your exes there,” I said, whatever it was, made him uncomfortable and I hadn’t intended on pushing him.

 

“It’s alright, you don’t know. We should have talked about this earlier,” Minho said, focusing on massaging my feet.

 

“You don’t have to talk about it, I don’t want to push you,” I said. Minho shook his head.

 

“It’s alright. I should have brought it up earlier,” he said. I was sincerely concerned about what it was. Minho locked eyes with me. “I didn’t really date seriously. A few dates or something but I could never connect on a deeper level. Then I bumped into a childhood friend. I was head over heels. It was sort of a first love. I trusted her completely. It went well for about three years. She could be manipulative but I dismissed it because ... I felt like I finally had what I wanted. I proposed to her in front of all our friends. We planned this beautiful wedding, it felt like a dream. Then about two weeks before the wedding she took off with a friend of mine. They had been seeing each other for months, even before we got engaged. I was heart-broken. I was left having to cancel everything, call all my family, tell them the wedding was off. During that time I might have drank some bottles of champagne I wasn’t able to return. That was a few weeks before I met you.”

 

It explained so much, his insecurities, not wanting to start something serious so quickly.

 

“Yet you’re still willing to try this with me?” I asked, referring to the conversation we had earlier that night. Minho nodded.

 

“You’re not her. Not at all. You would never manipulate me the way she did. I trust you. So yeah, it’s been only a few months, but in the future, I want to live with you, marry you, maybe adopt a dog or have cute little kids... and if you decide at any point to leave me, I would still be happy with the time we spent together.”

 

Minho had barely finished that last sentence when I launched myself at him and landed on his lap, I took his head between my hands and kissed him hard.

 

“I love you, okay. And I’m not going anywhere, because I want to do all that stuff with you too,” I said, staring into his eyes. He nodded and hugged me close.

 

“I love you more than I ever loved her, that says more than enough,” he told me. I just held him close to me.

 

 

I woke up the next morning with Minho’s fingers walking over the skin on my hip. I let out a giggle. Once he noticed I was awake he exchanged his fingers for his mouth, leaving a trail of kisses.

 

About an hour later I walked downstairs wearing nothing but Minho’s shirt and Minho only had his boxer shorts on.

 

“What do you want for breakfast?” I asked, pulling the fridge open.

 

“Well, I just h—“ 

 

“Don’t even try to finish that sentence,” I said, looking at him over my shoulder, he just grinned. I ended up making eggs and bacon for the both of us. That morning lead into one of the best weekends we had. Monday morning followed like a cold shower.

 

Minho entered with the newspaper in his hand and began reading it with his breakfast as he usually did. A few pages in, he started frowning. Before I got a chance to ask, my phone blew up with messages. I looked up at Minho.

 

Our whole relationship was smeared out big and wide in the paper for everyone to see. It wasn’t a nice story either. It was full of accusations of how we were conspiring against the competition and about having faulty contracts while none of that was true.

 

It was the first day we were arriving with one car at work and I was glad we did. I didn’t want to go through the herd of press alone.

 

I stepped out of the car and immediately five mics were stuck in my face. Minho walked around from the driver’s side. When he caught up to me I quickly made my way inside, not commenting once on the things there were asking.

 

We spent the day putting out fires everywhere. We were dealing with all kinds of concerns of clients about the stability of the company and press trying to get a word in.

 

Our PR proposed to do our own interview to give a better view of ourselves but it had to be published tomorrow. I was about to leave for the interview together with Minho when one of our most important clients walked in. He was a tall, dark man in his fifties, he had been a long-time client I could get along with well. Today, however, I wasn’t sure what he was going to say.

 

“Mr Johnson!” I greeted him. I shook his hand and told him to sit down. I asked if he wanted something to drink but he assured me he wouldn’t take long. He looked at me for a few seconds.

 

“Bad morning?” he asked. I gave a small smile.

 

“I’ve had better mornings,” I said. He chuckled.

 

“I was a bit surprised this morning,” he started, “It’s awful what those papers write, don’t read it. I’ve had bad rumours spread about me too. I just wanted to assure you I don’t believe that kind of idiotic rumours. I wouldn’t have started doing business with you if I thought you would. As you know I have some shares in a few newspapers and I made sure they wouldn’t spread this even further, that much I could do.”

 

“Wow, that’s really nice, thank you,” I said.

 

“Now, where is this guy? I want to meet him,” he said. I stood up and knocked on the door that separated our two offices.

 

I opened the door and walked in.

 

“Mr Johnson wants to meet you,” I said. Minho stood up and shook his hand.

 

“Nice to meet you,” he politely said.

 

“Nice to meet you too,” Mr Johnson said, “now listen carefully. I have been doing business with her for several years. She is an amazing hard-working young lady, please treat her well.” It sounded a little threatening.

 

“I am doing my very best,” Minho said, smiling at me.

 

“Very well then, I must be off. Don’t try to read these articles in too much detail, the truth is all that matters,” he said, and with that he left.

 

Then it was really time to leave for the interview. Along with it came a photoshoot, which was mostly just awkward. We had to find the balance between looking professional without being too impersonal.

 

That was the end of a long and tiring day. We ordered take-out because we didn’t feel like anything else. We ate it on the floor in front of the TV, a weird habit we had picked up.

 

When we were done, Minho scooted closer to me and leaned his head against my chest. I played with his hair absent-mindedly.

 

“You know it was a tough day but all in all, we didn’t do so bad. If we got through this day, any other day will be fine too,” I said. Minho hummed in agreement.

“We’re the best,” he laughed. I leaned down and kissed him.

 

“Yeah we are.”

 

______

 

A year later, a few days before our annual party we working late even though the employees had gone home. Minho insisted on finishing it today so I hung back and continued working until he was ready.

 

Suddenly Minho walked in with drinks and two pizza boxes. I looked at him a little puzzled.

 

“Is this like an anniversary I’ve forgotten?” I asked. Minho shook his head.

 

“Just a treat,” he smiled. He told me to sit on the ground so we could have a little picnic. He poured me a drink.

 

“Enjoy your meal,” he said.

 

“You too,” I said, opening my pizza box.  ‘ _Will you marry me? ‘_ , slices of tomato spelled out. I looked up in surprise and Minho was smiling excitedly.

 

He took my hands in his.

 

“Darling, we met each other over 2 years ago now and you have been a sunshine in my life ever since. I know the way we started dating was a little unorthodox but I knew our connection was real so it didn’t really matter. You make me feel at home, you make me feel safe and above all, you make me incredibly happy,” Minho went in the pocket of his suit and pulled out a box with a ring. He popped it open. “Will you marry me?”

 

I didn’t have to think about it for a second.

 

“Yes, of course,” I said. I leaned in and kissed him.

 

He slipped the ring on my finger and he kissed me again.

 

“I love you, sweetie,” I told him. He smiled back at me.

 

“I love you more.” 


End file.
